'I will continue to live in Mumbai, love its people'

May 17, 2012, 06:32 IST
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Shiva Devnath

In an interview with MiD DAY, Anuj Tikku said that the actions of a handful of people who killed his father and tried to usurp his property have not changed his attitude towards Mumbai, where he plans to stay on and work

The city introduced him to the man who butchered his father brutally in his Oshiwara apartment, but he has no plans of leaving Mumbai. Meet Anuj Tikku, son of Arun Kumar Tikku, who was drugged and abducted by his ‘paying guest’ Vijay Palande on April 7. Speaking with MiD DAY, Tikku said yesterday that he doesn’t want to leave the city as he loves working here, and ironically, enjoys the amiability and compassion of its populace.

Unfazed: Tikku says that in spite of the turmoil and trauma his life has seen recently, he is keen on living his life in a normal way

“The people in this city are very nice, except for a few. For a handful of such people, I will not leave the city. Since my father’s murder, I have been staying in the same apartment, as I still feel his presence there,” said Tikku, who insisted that in spite of the turmoil and trauma his life has seen recently, he was keen on staying put here and continue living his life in a normal way. “This city has given me everything. Though I have lost my father in this city, I will continue to live here. I know my father would have supported me, had Palande not called him up and lied to him about my habits, and fed him the lie that I was planning to sell the Lokhandwala flat,” added Tikku.

Tikku attributed his positivity to the fact said his friend circle and kin around him have helped him overcome the crisis, by not making much of it, and by not mentioning the macabre incidents in their conversations with him. Tikku plans to take a month-long sabbatical, but after that it’s back to work. “After I return, I want to live a normal life, putting the entire episode behind me. But I will never be able to forget the incident or forgive Palande for killing my father,” he added.

He revealed that the documents of his apartment and the property in Delhi that were in his father’s possession haven’t been found yet. “I have lodged a complaint, but the cops have been unable to locate the documents, which have been missing since my father’s murder,” added Tikku. Talking about the mysterious suicide note penned by him but found in Palande’s ICICI bank locker a few days ago, he said he had been inebriated when he wrote it, and had no idea what Palande was making him write. He said, “I agree that I had written the suicide note, but I was told to write it by Palande after he got me drunk. I did not even know I had written it until I was told by the police that it had been found,” said Tikku. Tikku, as part of the rehabilitation process, has undergone treatment to quit drugs. “I am even scared to smoke a cigarette nowadays,” he said.